LOCOMOTIVES OF THE MIDLAND & GREAT NORTHERN JOINT RAILWAY

Included here are pictures of the old Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway. The company only had a life of about 40 years but interesting years they were. It was formed in 1893 from a number of smaller companies bought by the Midland and Great Northern Railways in an attempt to break the GER stranglehold on the increasingly lucrative East Coast holiday trade. Of all the major railway companies, the Midland was the only one that was virtually landlocked, a cause of great annoyance. Locomotive stock was eclectic to say the least initially but later settled down into four basic classes that served the railway well until taken over by the LNER in 1936. These pictures cover all eras, areas and aspects of the company's existence. These pictures are published for pleasure/information/research purposes only and are not for sale or copy under any circumstances. Information in captions has been researched as thoroughly as possible but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Below is a copy of the 1922 timetable for Bourne, which is surprisingly comprehensive, trains covering most of the M&GN system:-
07.45 to King's Lynn calling at Twenty, Counter Drain, North Drove, Spalding, Weston, Moulton, Whaplode, Holbeach, Fleet, Gedney, Long Sutton, Sutton Bridge, Walpole, Terrington, Clenchwarton, South Lynn arriving 09.32 M&GN
07.45 to Essendine calling at Thurlby, Braceborough Spa arriving at 07.59 GNR
08.55 to Leicester calling at Castle Bytham, South Witham, Edmondthorpe & Wymondham, Saxby, Melton Mowbray, Asfordby, Frisby, Brooksby, Rearsby, Syston arriving at 10.38 M&GN
09.05 to Sleaford calling at Morton Road, Rippingale, Billingborough & Horbling, Aswarby & Scredington arriving at 09.40 GNR
09.20 to Essendine calling at Thurlby, Braceborough Spa arriving at 09.35 GNR
10.48 to Sleaford calling at Morton Road, Rippingale, Billingborough & Horbling, Aswarby & Scredington arriving at 11.23 GNR
10.53 to King's Lynn calling at Twenty, Counter Drain, North Drove, Spalding, Weston, Moulton, Whaplode, Holbeach, Fleet, Gedney, Long Sutton, Sutton Bridge, Walpole, Terrington, Clenchwarton, South Lynn arriving at12.50 M&GN
12.10 to Lowestoft Central calling at Sutton Bridge, South Lynn, Melton Constable, Aylsham, North Walsham, Yarmouth Beach, Gorleston-on-Sea, Corton, Lowestoft North. Also through coaches to Norwich and Cromer. arriving at 16.16 M&GN
12.15 to Leicester calling at Saxby, Melton Mowbray arriving at 13.28 M&GN
12.37 to Saxby Castle Bytham, South Witham, Edmondthorpe & Wymondham arriving at 13.19 M&GN
13.00 to Essendine calling at Thurlby, Braceborough Spa arriving at 13.15 GNR
14.30 to King's Lynn calling at Twenty, Counter Drain, North Drove, Spalding, Weston, Moulton, Whaplode, Holbeach, Fleet, Gedney, Long Sutton, Sutton Bridge, Walpole, Terrington, Clenchwarton, South Lynn arriving at 16.45 M&GN
15.25 to Sleaford calling at Morton Road, Rippingale, Billingborough & Horbling, Aswarby & Scredington arriving at 16.00 GNR
15.28 to Essendine calling at Thurlby, Braceborough Spa arriving at 15,43 GNR
16.28 to Nottingham calling at Castle Bytham, Saxby, Melton Mowbray arriving at 17.41 M&GN
16.40 to Lowestoft Central calling at South Lynn, Fakenham, Melton Constable, Aylsham, North Walsham, Stalham, Potter Heigham, Yarmouth Beach, Gorleston-on-Sea, Lowestoft North. Also through coaches to Norwich and Cromer. arriving at 20.24 M&GN
16.50 to Spalding calling at Twenty, Counter Drain, North Drove arriving at 17.11 M&GN
16.50 to Essendine calling at Thurlby, Braceborough Spa arriving at 17.04 GNR
17.55 to Sleaford calling at Morton Road, Rippingale, Billingborough & Horbling, Aswarby & Scredington arriving at 18.30 GNR
18.05 to King's Lynn calling at Twenty, Counter Drain, North Drove, Spalding, Weston, Moulton, Whaplode, Holbeach, Fleet, Gedney, Long Sutton, Sutton Bridge, Walpole, Terrington, Clenchwarton, South Lynn arriving at 20.05 M&GN
18.13 to Essendine calling at Thurlby, Braceborough Spa arriving at 18.33 GNR
18.15 to Leicester calling at South Witham, Saxby, Syston arriving at 19.28 M&GN
18.27 to Nottingham calling at Castle Bytham, South Witham, Edmondthorpe & Wymondham, Saxby, Melton Mowbray arriving at 19.30 M&GN
21.07 to Spalding calling at Twenty arriving at 21.27 M&GN.
However, by September 1953, things were much different. The Sleaford and Essendine lines had both long since lost their passenger services and these were the trains that remained:-
0740 all stops to Kings Lynn, arriving 0929.
0853 to Nottingham calling at Castle Bytham, South Witham, Edmondthorpe, Saxby, Melton Mowbray, Grimston, Old Dalby and Nottingham, arriving 1024.
1039 all stops to Kings Lynn, arriving 1236.
1227 to Birmingham calling at Saxby, Melton Mowbray, Leicester and Birmingham, arriving at 1538.
1238 to Saxby calling at Castle Bytham, South Witham and Saxby, arriving 1318.
1426 all stops to Spalding, arriving 1446.
1625 to Yarmouth Beach calling at South Lynn, Fakenham West, Melton Constable, Aylsham North, North Walsham Town, Stalham, Potter Heigham and Yarmouth Beach, arriving 1930.
1631 to Nottingham calling at Castle Bytham, South Witham, Edmondthorpe, Saxby, Melton Mowbray, Grimston, Old Dalby and Nottingham, arriving 1806.
1635 all stops to Spalding, arriving 1655.
1810 all stops to Kings Lynn, arriving 1957.
1840 to Nottingham calling at Castle Bytham, South Witham, Saxby, Melton Mowbray and Nottingham, arriving 2000.
2050 terminating service from Spalding.
2107 all stops to Spalding, arriving 2127.
2241 terminating service from Kings Lynn.
As regards freight in 1953, there were just two booked trains in each direction west of Bourne.